―Please briefly describe your practice.
My name is Elise By Olsen and I’m a curator, publisher and director of International Library of Fashion Research. I have founded the publications Recens Paper and Wallet, in addition to Ekstra Utgave which I co-founded with the Norwegian poet Morten Langeland. I work in the field between art, fashion, media and publishing. I also write two regular columns; ‘Paper View’ for AnOther Magazine and ‘Blad, blad, blad’ for the Norwegian communist newspaper Klassekampen.
―What led you to start the International Library of Fashion Research?
In 2019 I was asked to inherit the collection of my long term mentor, the late Steven Mark Klein, consisting of 5,000 books, magazines, lookbooks, ephemera. That became the founding grounds for International Library of Fashion Research, with a goal to archive, preserve and mediate contemporary fashion printed matter. What is a library for the 21st century, and for a young generation, and what can it be? How can a library be more than just a storage space or mausoleum of the past? These are some of the questions that led me to start the project. I felt there was a big gap in archiving practices in fashion, and rather an unsustainable pressure and focus on producing ‘the next next’.
―You have transitioned from one platform/media to another. What is your drive for this constant evolution of projects?
My projects are extensions of me, and I have been transitioning and exploring different modes, formats and outputs for my creativity and artistic expression. From fashion to contemporary art to media to writing. I love this freedom. I also always have a specific number of issues, a specific timeframe or duration of my projects, I’m conscious of the fact that the point you end a project is as important as the point you begin one.
―Why did you choose to exhibit your curation as a set of suitcases?
Right when I was invited to work with Tokyo Art Book Fair I had a studio visit with the Norwegian artist Terje Nicolaisen who presented me a suitcase that could open up as a mobile bookstore. After I started noticing a few other projects where artists had actively used and transformed suitcases into exhibition spaces and guerilla libraries. I wanted to extend on this idea.
―Like the use of projection and easel, your curation incorporates objects that are usually not considered a “book” and questions the physicality of a book. How did you make your selection of artists?
I’m excited by the dedication to the artist’s book as a medium that I feel these nine artists are working holistically with. Some have created new works, some are presenting archival works. Some are limited editions of 100 copies and some are 1 of 1s. I like that the artists have all used their suitcase as a form of booth-in-booth. I’m also really excited to be further exploring in my work outside of this project, the apparent parallels between fashion printed matter and the artist’s book.
―I invited in a total of nine artists working with artist’s books as a tool and medium in various ways. I wanted to represent the wide array and width of contemporary Norwegian artist book publishing. These artists and suitcases all question and push what an artist’s book is and can be today. A miniature bookstore, a boxed cinema, a gallery space in a trunk…
I’m excited by the dedication to the artist’s book as a medium that I feel these nine artists are working holistically with. Some have created new works, some are presenting archival works. Some are limited editions of 100 copies and some are 1 of 1s. I like that the artists have all used their suitcase as a form of booth-in-booth. I’m also really excited to be further exploring in my work outside of this project, the apparent parallels between fashion printed matter and the artist’s book.
―A quick message for our Japanese audience please!
I visited Tokyo in 2015 and I’m very happy and honoured to be back to this culture that appreciates and acknowledges the artist’s book medium, as well as archiving so highly. It’s very inspiring. Thank you for having me – arigatou gozaimasu!